Swain Destinations

Industry| Travel
Founded| 1987
Founder| Ian Swain and Linda Swain
Headquarters| Ardmore, Pennsylvania
Website| http://www.swaindestinations.com/

Swain Destinations is a travel company that was established in the United States 1987.

## History

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Swain Destinations was founded in 1987 as Swain Tours by Australian native Ian Swain and his wife, Linda Swain, a native of the United States. The company first began selling outbound travel from the United States to Australia and New Zealand.

The company then extended its destinations to include South East Asia and Southern and Eastern Africa. In 1997, Africa and Asia were added to its travel product line. Swain Tours then began to rebrand its services from escorted touring to customized travel.

In 1999, Ian Swain sold Swain Tours to Far & Wide Travel, but continued to run it as part of the management team of Far & Wide. Although Swain Tours remained profitable during this four-year relationship, Far & Wide filed for bankruptcy in September 2003.[1]

During this time, Ian Swain entered negotiations to buy back Swain Tours, but was outbid by Travel Corp. for the sum of $3 million. In 2006, Ian Swain bought Swain Tours from Travel Corp for an undisclosed amount. Swain Tours has been family owned and operated since that time.[2]

In January 2014, Swain Tours relaunched as Swain Destinations, and focused on independent and customized travel.[3][4]

## Awards

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South Australian Tourism Commission, Tour Wholesaler of the Year 2009, 2012

## References

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1. ^ Far & Wide Bankruptcy
2. ^ Ian Swain buys back Swain Tours from the Travel Corp.
3. ^ Swain Has a New Name, New Website
4. ^ Swain Rebrands to Emphasize Independent Travel

## Further reading

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* Johnny Jet (March 17, 2014). "Travel Style: Ian Swain". Johnny Jet.
* Foote, Katie (March 5, 2014). "Food Travel: Top 14 Culinary Experiences To Savor in 2014". Epicure and Culture.
* Rodeghier, Katherine (January 30, 2014). "Weddings to Go". Chicago Tribune.
* Alan Prince, Russ (August 12, 2013). "The Super-Rich Are Spending US$4 Billion Per Year On Adventure Travel". Forbes.
* Ortiz, Sergio (July 2, 2013). "Swain Tours Shines in the Land Down Under". Recommend.com.
* Olmsted, Larry (August 24, 2012). "World's Greatest Sporting Event you don't know". Forbes.
* Alwyn-Jones, John (May 15, 2012). "Interview with Ian Swain by John Alwyn-Jones".
* "USTOA Recognizes and Reacts to Culinary Tourism". Recommend.com. October 10, 2012.
* Lowe, Greg. "Tour operators in Thailand, Singapore turn to customisation for a sharper differentiation in a competitive market". TTG Asia.

## External links

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* Swain Destinations (official website)